Information, Answers &amp; Reviews

Over the weekend we lost one of my favorite film and television stars, James Garner. He is perhaps best known for his starring roles in the television series Maverick and The Rockford Files. His film roles were varied, often funny, but almost always heartwarming. The link below will provide you with list of movies and books in the MCPL collection featuring this well beloved star.

The 10th Kingdom is another in my list of movies and shows that I try to watch every year. I have a lot of those and honestly I don’t succeed in watching more than one or two of them over again each year. The 10th Kingdom is partially why this happens. Being a three part mini-series, it takes up much of the time I would use to watch some of my other favorites.

The 10th Kingdom takes place mainly in the magical land of the Nine Kingdoms or as we would call it, the fairy tale worlds of old. Rebellion and war are afoot. Prince Wendell is soon to be crowned king of Snow White’s former Kingdom; however his wicked step mother, the Queen, has escaped her prison and joined with the leader of the Troll Kingdom who wants to expand his territory. Read more about The 10th Kingdom

Since 2012, the American Library Association has chosen a best book for adult readers in both fiction and nonfiction that were published in the U.S. in the previous year. Drumroll!! This year's winners are The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Doris Kearns Goodwin and The Goldfinch by Donna Tart.

Both books have received excellent reviews. The Bully Pulpit focuses on the great friendship between Roosevelt and Taft that was severely tried when they ran against each other for president in 1912. It also vividly describes the muckraking era in American journalism, so far removed from our journalism today, but having left a great influence on it.

The Goldfinch, reviewed here previously, tells the story of a young boy's sense of loss after being bombed in a museum and losing his mother. In the craziness after the bombing, he grabs the small painting of the title--a 13 and 1/4 by 9 inch work by the Dutch artist, Carol Fabritius, that was painted in 1654. Theodore's life spins out of control and he keeps this painting for years. It's a novel about art, relationships, and how circumstances can change the course of a life in a single moment. Read more about Carnegie Award Winners Announced

This book is not about nature as I’d first thought, except for the fact that it recommends running in those glove-like shoes on outdoor trails. It is a book about health, however—how to keep it, how to get it back in a tense, stress-filled world.

What I like best about it is how the two authors, one a doctor, the other a science journalist cull recent research for results on diets and life-techniques that really work include cutting back on carbs, sleeping eight hours, spending time moving outdoors and meditation.

One study confirmed that Japanese businessmen had a 40% increase in their immune response after just one walk in the woods. Even more surprising is that this lasted for more than a month. The results in improved health and awareness for those that meditate were particularly powerful. Even novice meditators had an increased immune response to a flu virus than others."

The Amish are most often thought of in regards to their strict religion, quality workmanship, and their horse and buggy culture. One aspect of their culture and beliefs that has not been well known until recently is the practice of “rumspringa” [running around]. This is a rite of passage given to Amish teens in which they are allowed to experience the ways of the world, or as the title of the documentary suggests “The Devil’s Playground,” for a period of one year. These young adults are allowed to experience the enticements of living in a technological word but they are often also exposed for the first time to the world of drugs, alcohol, sexual pleasure and crime. At the end of the year they choose whether to return to the Amish culture and its lifestyle or to remain in the outside world and its ways. Read more about Devil's Playground

The Library of Congress just appointed Charles Wright from Virginia to be our new national poet laureate. Some ofour best contemporary poets have brought their energy and vision to promote this ancient, ever-changing art. Recent poets laureate have included: Billy Collins, Natasha Tretheway, Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove, Ted Kooser, and Kay Ryan.

Some of their projects live on. Ted Kooser created a free weekly newspaper column called American Life in Poetry that features work each week by a different poet. Billy Collins started Poetry 180 a website that has spurned at least two books that have brought accessible poetry to high school students and the general public. Natasha Tretheway started a series on PBS’s The News Hour called “Where Poetry Lives.” It includes segments of contemporary poets reading their own work and describing how it came to be.

And what, you might ask, will Charles Wright do? In the New York Times announcement of his post, Wright said that he and his wife spend two summer months each year in a remote corner of Montana. He will envision his new project there, something worthy of the tradition that earlier appointees have started. Read more about New U.S. Poet Laureate Announced